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tv   Newsline  WHUT  January 22, 2013 7:30am-8:00am EST

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policy makers at the bank of japan have agreed to do more to fight deflation. they set an inflation target of 2%. people in israel are casting ballots in a prime election. benjamin netanyahu is expected to keep his job. welcome to nhk "newsline." central bank policy makers have agreed to give shinzo abe what he wants, a 2% inflation target.
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it's part of abe's plan to tackle deflation with bolder, monetary easing measures. bank of japan and eight others agreed on it saying they. boj officials have previously made it a goal to bring 1% inflation within reach but the new, clearer target requires some bold steps. the document also addresses the role of the government in revitalizing japan's economy. it describes how politicians should promote growth and restore fiscal health. along with drafting the joint statement, boj officials have agreed to introduce open-ended asset purchasing. under a new program from january 2014 the central bank will purchase a certain amount of financial assets every month. no termination date is being set for the scheme. the new measure will expand the total size of the asset purchase
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program, or app, by about 10 trillion yen, or $110 billion, in 2014. the program is expected to be maintained in the future. following the meeting prime minister and revital minister reported on the release of the joint statement to prime minister abe at his office. >> translator: the government strongly hopes the bank of japan will a monetary easing policy in order to achieve the goal. >> translator: the bank of japan believes it is important to realize sustainable growth by overcoming deflation at an early stage and achieving price stability. it is vital to strengthen our ties with the government if we are to jointly achieve our ames.
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>> translator: i believe it is unprecedented for the government and bank of japan to commit thoemsz su themselves to such strong ties. this is an historical moment. >> the prime minister has highly praised the statement by the central bank. >> translator: it's definitely a breakthrough toward bolder monetary easing. >> abe told reporters the statement shows the bank of japan's determination to tackle deflation. abe and central bank governor attended a meeting on tuesday evening at council on economic and fiscal policy. they confirmed the council will regularly review progress and the implementation of monetary policy to achieve the 2% inflation target. policymakers said they would weigh the risks to economic growth. nhk world has tracked policy decisions of abe in the past.
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we heard abe push for these measures since before he entered office. how does the bank of japan's response fall in line with his goal? >> certainly, a big win for abe. he has said that steering the economy out of deflation is one of the three pillars of his economic platform. fail you're to reach an agreement would clearly have been a setback. policymakers have been saying for some time the inflation goals should be 1%. this sets the target at twice that level. central bankers also agreed they need to achieve the target as early as possible. they'll be required to report to the government on how they're doing. the economy has been struggling with deflation for more than a decade so it's a surprise this hasn't happened earlier. >> what kind of reaction is it getting abroad? >> some countries like germany are criticizing abe saying he's
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trying to weaken the yen to boost exports. central banks around the world, including the fed in the u.s. and european central banks, are essentially doing the same thing. implementing drastic monetary easing measures to weaken their currency and to increase exports. >> one of the most important questions is how do you think this policy is going to affect japan's economy? >> well, actually, many economists have been wrestling with that question. at what point prices start to rise, it might be difficult to stop the momentum, but others argue it will take some time for the boj to actually achieve its target. >> it's hard to expect because considering japan economy is suffering negative outward gap at 3% of level and also considering level is still high compared to historical level it's hard to anticipate
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inflation number bring back to 2% level or close to 2% level. >> we also need to look at possible price hikes in the larger context. right now the economy has been suffering from a condition known as deflationary spiral. companies earn less, so they cut wages. and consumers spend less. that drives down company's sales. now, considerable will happen with this inflation target. prices will rise and people will be hard-pressed to afford some things unless their wages, too, go up. that could drive down consumption. so, it's essential to create an environment in which rising prices improve both corporate earnings and workers' wages. >> the boj is supposed to be a separate entity from the government. what is the outcome of this current process say about the central bank's independence? >> apparently abe wants the next governor of the bank of japan to
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be more sympathetic to aggressive monetary easing. if that happens, i wonder who would take responsibility for how markets respond. investors have so far welcomed abe's approach, but we'll have to wait to see whether they like what happens as he follows through. >> thanks very much, reiko. for more on the boj and the markets, ron madison is here. >> first i want to talk more about the central bank governor, gene. he gave a bit of background on the conference after the meeting. and he said that drastic efforts by both the bank and the government will be needed to achieve the targets. he said officials should keep monetary policy flexible. >> translator: in pursuit of monetary easing and taking into account it may be quite some time before the effects of monetary policy permeate the economy. the bank will determine whether there is any significant risk to
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the sustained ability of economic growth, including from the accumulation of financial imbalances. >> he did stress achieving the 2% inflation target will require not just further monetary easing but also efforts by the government to encourage economic growth. japanese business leaders welcome the commitment shown by the government and the boj to end deflation, but they've urged government officials to do more to revitalize the economy. japanese business federation chairman said he wants the government to swiftly take bold steps for regulatory reform and cooperate more closely with foreign economic partners. chairman of japan association of corporate executives hasegawa said the government must show strong political leadership to promote economic growth, he said otherwise the economy may be threatened by a rise in prices above the 2% target. let's get a check at how markets are reacting following the boj decision.
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in terms of currency, yen bouncing back from a brief slide after the announcement. market players are been selling the dollar and buying the yen on profit taking as boj easing measures were within market expectations. london trading we are seeing a bit of strengthening right now. 88.79 for dollar/yen. euro/yen is looking at 118.55. on to stocks, asian stocks mixed. nikkei down 0.4%. investors got a clearer picture of the boj's monetary policy. in terms of active trading at this time, european stocks looking to the downside right now. investors are cautious ahead of the release of bellwether u.s. corporate earnings on the day. london down a fraction. paris's cac 40 losing about 0.25% at this time. shipment of flat screen
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televisions showed the steepest decline last month. they say 6.5 million units were shipped in 2012. that's down 67% from the year before. it was the second straight year-on-year decline. many japanese consumers bought flat screen tvs ahead of the switch over to digital broadcasting. sales have declined since then, leading to a drop if shipments. they say tv makers must develop new features or services to stimulate fresh demand. that is going to wrap it up for biz tonight. let's check in now on the markets.
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u.s. diplomats are trying to punish north korea for firing off a rocket last month. they presented a draft resolution to u.n. security council aimed at tightening existing sanctions. the draft contains -- condemns the launch as a missile test that violated security council resolutions and also urges north koreans to end their nuclear development program. the draft lists additional sanction targets. they include individuals and government organizations such as the space agency american diplomats work with their counterparts from japan and south korea for new sanctions but chinese officials pushed back. security council members agreed to strengthen existing sanctions. israelis are voting in a general election.
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an opinion poll suggests they'll keep benjamin netanyahu in power. he called early elections in october after his coalition failed to agree on the annual budget. his likud party joined forces with the nationalist group yisreal beitenu. the jewish home part is gaining support. they obtained peace talks with palestinian. netanyahu allowed israelis to build settlements in occupied territories two years ago. their construction breaches international law and contributed to a breakdown in the peace process. the state of relations between israelis and palestinians is just one factor behind the rise of political hardliners. nhk world reports from jerusalem. >> reporter: on a college campus in jerusalem, members of a peace group invited students to an event to discuss the palestinian
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issue. but they got little positive response. it's been 20 years since they signed the peace agreement. but in israel, the euphoria has since long died down. peace still seems a long way off. in a recent poll, only 31% of respondents answered that they expect peace to come in a few years. more and more israelis are losing belief in the peace process. and moving toward the right. among many campaign pollsters, the ones spanned out are ones like this from extreme right wing party jewish home. campaign held by jewish home
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drew so many supporters they couldn't all fit in the hall. the head is known as a strong opponent of the establishment of a palestinian state. >> translator: all the promise lands belong to israel. >> reporter: poll before elections suggested the party stands to make drastic gains on its previous three seats. this man lives in the village neighboring the gaza strip. he once firmly supported peace with the palestinians. he vividly remembers the historic moment when leaders of israel and palestine shook hands. >> i think i felt like everybody felt. i felt great. like it's going to be. it's happening in my time.
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>> reporter: but the conflict and the fighting have continued. he is becoming gradually disillusioned with the peace process and existing political parties. his village has been hit by over 400 rockets fired from gaza. he began to think palestinian/islamic movement hamas sees israel as weak. yair decided to vote for extreme right wing party this time. >> we try everything. like as i not, we try to talk, we try to move out, we try to give a hand. nothing help. so just the strong end will help. >> reporter: the swing to the right is seen in the move to build more jewish settlements on the west bank. it's a plan drawing criticism from the international community. palestinians consider the west bank as land for the future independent state.
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one of the settlements is called little america, because many of its 8,000 residents are from the u.s. bob lang, who came here from new york, is a religious jew. he shares the belief with other immigrants that jews have an inherent right to live in the land described in the bible. lang says that the incoming prime minister should stick to his plans and expand settlements, even at the risk of worsening relations with the u.s. the most important ally of israel. >> i hope that he has the ability to stand up to world pressure and demand the things that need to be done. >> reporter: a shift to the right prompted by disappointment with the peace process and the international pressure on israel will likely to affect voting.
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and this may also set the course of the new government after the election. kohi, nhk world, jerusalem. algerian government officials have reassured foreign energy companies they'll deal aggressively with terrorism. they've confirmed that 37 foreign hostages died during a standoff at a gas complex in the sahara desert. they say militants were making wild demands, so security forces were compelled to act. nhk world has the details. >> reporter: oil company executives see riches beneath these sands but they're questioning the cost of their investment after what happened here. >> translator: the terrorists entered the country from northern mali. they were trying to take the foreign hostages and flee.
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>> reporter: sellal said the victims were from at least eight countries. government officials from japan, the philippines, britain and the u.s. say workers from their countries were among those killed. an islamist group claimed responsibility for the attack. the group leader, it's reported to be a former member of an organization known as al qaeda in islamic megreb. sellal said the militants started blowing up part of the facilities, so security forces had to move in. >> translator: we can't accept this kind of terrorist act. we attacked the militants with force to protect our people. >> reporter: british prime minister david cameron said, he
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understood the pressures algerian commanders were under. french president hollande said the response was appropriate. japanese prime minister shinzo abe condemned the attack on civilians. >> translator: this is an unacceptable cowardly act and i severely criticize the terrorists. >> reporter: the militants said they won't let up in their attacks on western-owned firms until the french military ends its operation against islamist rebels in mali. the terrorists can move freely across the porous borders in northern africa and many wonder how security forces will respond. french commanders in mali say they've made inroads in hauling the terrorist advances.
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they have regained control of two strategic towns in the central part of the country. spokesperson for france's defense ministry said the troops recaptured douentza and diabali. french military leaders now plan to push toward northern mali, which is a stronghold for islamist rebels. mali is a former french colony. government officials requested help from france earlier this month when rebels moved south. they say it increases risk of retaliatory attacks. they raised the country's domestic security alert. it's one notch below the highest level. they also tightened security around public transportation and other facilities across france. a senior member of japan's administration is in china. nat sue yamaguchi, ruling new komeito party. yamaguchi left for beijing on
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wednesday and will be in china for four days. relations between the two countries are tense over a territorial dispute. s sen kak cue islands are controlled by japan. >> translator: we need to encourage dialogue in order to ease tensions and avoid any contingencies. >> yamaguchi plans to meet with new chinese communist party xi jinping and other senior officials. he plans to ask xi to meet shinzo abe in the near future. populous, prosperous, schin that's rise brought it power and problems. an income guide divides people, pollution threatens their health and disputes strains relations with their neighbors. find out the challenges china faces on "newsline." for the latest in weather we have rachel ferguson. >> hi there.
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looking fairly settled across the continent in eastern asia. dry skies for both china and mongolia. you'll see a few showers here just in inland china. it won't be anything particularly heavy. you could see widespread fog here as well. as for japan, things are starting to clear up now after low pressure system moved across today. still see a few snow showers left in tohoku but it will be clear on wednesday with temperatures a little warmer, too. down towards the south we go and heavy rain is impacting parts of the philippines. also bringing some strong winds. there will be a risk of mudslides and also flooding as we head into the middle of the week. here are your temperatures. manila, 30 degrees for you. 20 in taipei. a pair of threes in seoul and beijing. minus 15 in you lan baer to.sub temperatures here, too. i want to draw your attention to this cloud just running towards the northeast. now, this is the jet stream.
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to the north of it it is bitterly cold. temperatures dropping well below zero. with the windchill, we're looking at minus 20, minus 30 windchill factor. so, that's definitely something that's going to be a main concern on tuesday, which i think is going to be the coldest day. now, over on the other side of the continent, much warmer weather. in fact, much warmer than usual for this time of year. summer-like temperatures in some places. let's show you some of the figures. new york city, minus 4. average, 3. minus 3 in washington, d.c. you usually see 6 about this time of year. winnipeg, minus 21. remember, these are the highs we're looking at. that's the subzero temperatures i was talking about. but over in the southwest, summer-like temperatures in los angeles. 27 degrees for the high. denver, 14. getting ready to rise to 17 on
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wednesday. it looks like spring in seattle. so, some pretty strange temperatures there. nothing too strange about the weather over here in europe. it's snowy. a lot of snow, actually, has been causing problems with travel. i'm sure many of you are aware. we're looking like it's going to be another snowy day on tuesday as another system pushes in across france and the i beer yan peninsula bringing another few centimeters of snow and gusts up to 100 kilometers an hour. that means snow will be blown about and that will also reduce visibility. expect more airport delays and delays on the trains and roads. dangerous driving conditions. now, that's going to be heading down towards the southeast. you're just getting rid of one storm in balance can peninsula. another one by wednesday. wednesday should look clearer across western portions of the continent. 2 degrees in london on your tuesday. 4 in paris, meanwhile. minus 7 in berlin. minus 8 in stockholm with frigid
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minus 15 in stockholm. not any problems temperaturewise in athens. 16 degrees. up to double figures in rome as well as lisbon. here's your extended forecast.
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people are mourning the loss of a renowned japanese film director. a crowd gathered at a temple in tokyo to say good-bye to oshima.
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♪ he died last tuesday of pneumonia. he was 80. about 700 people attended the funeral. the director of farewelled with the theme music from "merry christmas, mr. lawrence," one of his best-known films. sack motto composed the piece and starred in the film was among the mourners. the author of designed in the sign of "the ceremony," also an oshimi film. it was decorated with white flowers and his favorite hat and scarf were placed inside his coffin. we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news.
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i'm gene otani in tokyo.
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